Chapter Twenty-Nine: Turning Ruthless Without Warning

“What did you say?” Lü Xin’s gaze sharpened, just about to erupt in anger. Zhao Wei and the others behind him stepped forward, their faces fierce with rage.

The men brought by Ma Jun were equally unyielding; a conflict was about to break out.

Bai Ruyu shouted, “Enough! With me here, none of you may act out of line!”

Lü Xin’s expression was utterly unpleasant. He waved his hand and said, “For Senior Sister Bai’s sake, I’ll let it go this time.”

Ma Jun replied indifferently, “Let it go, then. We’re not in the mood for a contest today anyway.”

Ge Qian cupped his hands to Bai Ruyu and said, “Thank you, Senior Sister, for coming to witness for your junior.”

Bai Ruyu waved her hand. “Bring out your refined pills for everyone to see.”

Ge Qian nodded and addressed Hong Mei and the gathered crowd. “Fellow disciples, today I invited Senior Sister Bai to bear witness so that all may know: I, Ge Qian, am a fifth-rank, lower-grade alchemist, willing to refine pills for you all free of charge.

I ask for nothing in return, only to hone my skills. All of you risk your lives to obtain spiritual herbs, enduring countless hardships, trading your lives for them. None wish to see such efforts wasted.

Whether my pills are any good is not for me to say, so I have asked Senior Sister Bai to judge. I trust none here have any doubts about her, do you?”

Except for Lü Xin and Hong Mei, everyone responded loudly, “Yes, we trust Senior Sister Bai! Go ahead and show us!”

With calm composure, Ge Qian took five pills from his storage pouch and handed them to Bai Ruyu. “I ask Senior Sister to give a fair word.”

Bai Ruyu cradled the pills in her palm. Dense water aura transformed into white mist, swirling and rising, refreshing even those far away.

“By my witness,” Bai Ruyu declared, “Ge Qian’s pills not only meet the requirements for lower-grade pills but are even slightly superior. If you have spiritual herbs, you may entrust them to Ge Qian with confidence.

I will have Junior Brother Ge refine a batch for me first. Here are the ingredients and recipe; keep them safe.” Bai Ruyu acted decisively—not only did she vouch for Ge Qian, she handed over her own herbs and recipe on the spot. It was a living endorsement.

Afterward, Bai Ruyu handed the pills to Hong Mei. Hong Mei forced a smile as she accepted them, saying, “Thank you, Senior Sister.”

But inwardly, she was miserable. She had never imagined Ge Qian would bring Bai Ruyu; she thought that when Ge Qian handed her his pills, regardless of their quality, she would produce the five defective pills Lü Xin had given her, forcing that useless mute to swallow his bitterness and be at their mercy.

Ge Qian smiled slightly. “Is Senior Sister Hong satisfied with the pills?”

“They’re… very good!” Hong Mei stammered, wishing she could tear Ge Qian apart. Any trace of guilt she felt vanished; her scheme failed, and now she loathed Ge Qian.

Ma Jun, seeing Lü Xin’s face darken, casually took out a storage pouch and handed it to Ge Qian. “With free pill refinement, I won’t be foolish enough to miss out. Here are the herbs for five batches of Marrow Cleansing Pills—do a good job, you hear?”

Ge Qian pressed the pouch to his forehead, scanned it with his spiritual sense, and beamed. “Rest assured, Senior Brother Ma. I will do my utmost.”

With Ma Jun leading the way, others who had enough herbs for a batch quickly gathered around Ge Qian, producing their ingredients—for Marrow Cleansing Pills, Fasting Pills, and Demon Spirit Pills.

Ge Qian carefully sorted the herbs, marking each owner’s name.

Lü Xin swallowed his rage, cursing inwardly, “Let him be pleased for a few days. So he’s an alchemist—just lower-grade, making pills for others to cultivate. Wasting all his energy on pills, he’ll never advance to the Foundation Establishment stage.

When I advance, I’ll deal with him. And Ma Jun, you’ll regret today. Bai Ruyu, someday you’ll kneel at my feet and cultivate alongside me.”

Knowing he’d gain nothing here, Lü Xin cupped his hands and said, “Senior Sister Bai, I have matters to attend to—I’ll take my leave.”

Bai Ruyu’s expression was indifferent. “Go ahead.”

Hong Mei, her eyes flickering, also came to bid farewell, and Bai Ruyu replied coolly, “Go ahead.” The hangers-on didn’t want to linger; even those who wanted pills from Ge Qian wouldn’t risk angering Bai Ruyu now. They all greeted her and departed swiftly.

Ma Jun shouted to Lü Xin as he rode his sword into the sky, “Senior Brother Lü Xin, if you want pills, just come to Junior Brother Ge Qian. You’ll save a lot of spirit stones!”

“Hmph! Be careful you don’t poison yourselves and fall into deviation!” With that, he led his group away.

Once Ge Qian had collected the herbs, he bowed to Bai Ruyu. “Thank you, Senior Sister, and Senior Brother Ma, for helping me keep Lü Xin in check. I have no other skills, but so long as there are spiritual herbs, I’ll gladly refine pills for you all.

I hope you won’t blame me for not saying so beforehand.”

Bai Ruyu replied, “Very well. I’ll keep this in mind for now. If your pills fail to satisfy me, I’ll settle accounts with you. That’s all—I’m leaving.”

She mounted her sword and vanished at lightning speed into the horizon.

Ma Jun smiled. “I’ll be off as well. Remember, from now on, you must prioritize the Ma family when refining pills.”

In his mind, Ge Qian was already part of the Ma family—who wouldn’t want to benefit from a powerful backer? Ge Qian readily agreed.

With that, Ma Jun led his people away.

The market officially opened, but most had already handed their herbs to Ge Qian for pill refinement. Ge Qian knew not to linger; if Lü Xin returned for revenge, he’d be in trouble.

He pasted a swift movement talisman to his leg and hurried back to the herb garden.

Sure enough, shortly after Ge Qian left, Lü Xin and Hong Mei soared in on their swords, stopping above the market.

Hong Mei cast her Heavenly Eye technique to scan below. “Senior Brother Lü, that useless Ge Qian—mediocre in aptitude but clever—has vanished. He must have returned to the herb garden early, the cowardly waste!”

Lü Xin was furious; his perfect plan ruined. His blood boiled, and he needed to vent his anger or he’d go mad.

His face twisted and contorted. With a vicious swing, he slapped Hong Mei hard—a loud crack echoed.

Hong Mei never expected Lü Xin would hit her; caught off guard, her fair face swelled instantly, five bright red fingerprints clearly visible.

“Ow!” she cried in pain, nearly tumbling from her sword. She had never suffered such humiliation; tears sprang to her eyes.

She shouted, “Lü Xin, are you insane? How dare you hit me?”

“Useless thing! Why shouldn’t I hit you? You always call Ge Qian a waste, but you can’t deal with him yourself—what does that make you?” Lü Xin spat viciously.

Hong Mei trembled with rage. “Lü Xin, you dare speak to me like this? You said you’d love me forever! Now that you’ve slept with me, you want to throw me aside? No way—I won’t let this go!”

Lü Xin’s expression eased, and he sneered. “You thought a stick was a needle—just empty words. You only cultivated with me for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Don’t pretend to be decent; am I wrong?”

Hong Mei’s teeth chattered as she glared at Lü Xin. “Fine, Lü Xin, since you’ve said this much, hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill!” She stretched out her hand.

The Mortal Path of Immortal Journey Chapter 29—the update for “Turning Against Each Other Without Mercy” is complete!